It’s rainy today. And yesterday. In fact, it’s been rather rainy lately.I’m finding it difficult to look beyond the gray.
The gray, stormy clouds move quickly across the sky, covering the earth with a filmy, dingy layer.
It’s time to look beyond the gray, to see the beauty hidden in plain sight.
My art teacher, Mr. Borich, used to say, “Look at that cloud. How many colors do you see?” At first I could only see shades of gray and white. I mean, come on, clouds are white, gray, and sometimes black, right? But, he’d push my classmates and me, “Look closer. What do you really see?”
As I studied and watched the clouds moving outside our classroom window, colors exploded into my vision.
There were blues, greens, yellows, grays, reds, purples in all shades, intensities, and depths. The clouds had color! Extraordinary subtle shades in beautiful simplicity.
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Mr. Borich taught us to train our eyes to look beyond the surface.
Being fully alive, fully present in each day, requires the same training. We learn to see beyond the obvious; to identify the colors in our world. Look at the nuances. Explore the depths. Feel the intensity. Describe them. Embrace them. Find the potential right in front of you.
Some days will be more colorful than others. But, if we train our eyes to see beyond the first or second layer, everyday life becomes simply extraordinary. We recapture the wonder that may have slipped just a bit.
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
Thornton Wilder
Today, whether your skies are stormy gray, bursting with sunshine, or somewhere in between, try an experiment.
Stop your normal activity for 15 minutes. Look at something you see every day. Study it. Probe beyond the obvious.
Then, on a piece of paper, write down all the colors you see. If you’re really brave, attempt to draw it blending the colors together. What did you discover? What do you see in your normal day that is bursting with color? Tell us about your discovery by leaving a comment below.
If you need help, please reach out. I promise to listen without judgment and help you take the next step.
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